The Top 25 Best Sound Winners So Far (Updated for 2023)

Back at it! As you all know, I’m ranking the newest crop of Academy Award winners, with the column almost complete. For nearly all of the Oscar categories (including a new one today), you’ll see me list the top 25 recipients of that prize. Sometimes, our newest winner will appear. Other times, they’ll be relegated to the Honorable Mention category. Who knows, maybe one or two won’t even make the cut? It’s a list series that I’ll do each and every single year, in the weeks after the ceremony concludes. So, while this is a fun way to think about the Oscars in the aftermath of the latest telecast, it’s also a beginning for another column here on the site. Of course, definitely show us your own lists as well, in the comments section below. We’re definitely keen to know what you think!

This time around, I’m taking a second crack at a Best Sound ranking. In years past, I used to avoid doing Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing just because there was so much in the way of crossover. More recently, the move to Best Sound gave me a new excuse. Today, however, in an effort to stretch out the end of this series, I’m giving it a shot! Where does our most recent winner in Top Gun: Maverick fall amongst my picks? Find out below…

Here now are what I consider to be the 25 best winners of the Oscar for Best Actress, to date:

25. Lawrence of Arabia
24. Arrival
23. Chicago
22. Back to the Future
21. Aliens
20. Gravity
19. Inception
18. The Hurt Locker
17. 1917
16. Black Hawk Down
15. The Matrix
14. West Side Story
13. Dunkirk
12. The Dark Knight
11. Saving Private Ryan
10. Mad Max: Fury Road
9. Jaws
8. Sound of Metal
7. Star Wars
6. Dune
5. Whiplash
4. The Empire Strikes Back
3. Top Gun: Maverick
2. Ford v Ferrari
1. Jurassic Park

Honorable Mentions: Apollo 13, The Hunt for Red October, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and U-571, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Stay tuned for the next category early on next week!